From Library Journal
Surely no audiobook collection should be without some version of this timeless classic, arguably the most famous and well-loved gothic novel of the 20th century, and this production would be an excellent choice. Read in wonderfully British cadences by Anna Massey, all the mysterious and oppressive nuances are made immediate and chilling. We even feel some sympathy for the absurdly timid and cowering heroine; it is, after all, easy to imagine feeling woefully inferior to the predecessor and desperately eager to please. Of course the story requires great leaps of credulity... Forget the movie; it makes mincemeat of the actual tale. A wise seven-year-old once told me, "The book is always betterDit goes right into your head." This is a prime exampleDlisten again; it gets even better. Highly recommended.DHarriet Edwards, East Meadow P.L., NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Acorn Audio's "enhanced audiotrack" offers the original actors' voices, music and sound effects from the recent PBS dramatization -- with added narration to create a complete listening experience. The incomparable Diana Rigg (host of "Mystery") illuminates the sociopathic Mrs. Danvers, who smolders with rage at the appearance of a new mistress. Charles Dance, as Maxim, has two tough acts to follow -- Lord Laurence Olivier in the 1940 Alfred Hitchock film and Jeremy Brett in the first PBS production. Dance softens the character of de Winter, reducing the romantic, but now seemingly condescending, panache of his predecessors. This is an enjoyable production, but if you're unfamiliar, better to start with Recorded Books' 1988 production, as this new one neglects du Maurier's unforgettable opening, "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. . ." (Heresy.) E.K.D. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Vickie Sears
Rebecca is a novel of mystery and passion, a dark psychological tale of secrets and betrayal, dead loves and an estate called Manderley that is as much a presence as the humans who inhabit it: "when the leaves rustle, they sound very much like the stealthy movement of a woman in evening dress, and when they shiver suddenly and fall, and scatter away along the ground, they might be the pitter, patter of a woman's hurrying footsteps, and the mark in the gravel the imprint of a high-heeled satin shoe." Manderley is filled with memories of the elegant and flamboyant Rebecca, the first Mrs. DeWinter; with the obsessive love of her housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, who observes the young, timid second Mrs. DeWinter with sullen hostility; and with the oppressive silences of a secretive husband, Maxim. Rebecca may be physically dead, but she is a force to contend with, and the housekeeper's evil matches that of her former mistress as a purveyor of the emotional horror thrust on the innocent Mrs. DeWinter. The tension builds as the new Mrs. DeWinter slowly grows and asserts herself, surviving the wicked deceptions of Mrs. Danvers and the silent deceits of her husband, to emerge triumphant in the midst of a surprise ending that leaves the reader with a sense of haunting justice. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14.

Book Description
After their honeymoon, wealthy Max de Winter and his bride return to his country estate in Cornwall. But the unsettling presence of Rebecca, the deceased first Mrs. de Winter, lingers in the mansion and in reminders from the strange housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers.

From the Publisher
A true classic of suspense in a beautiful new package for a whole new generation of readers.

FROM OUR EDITORS

It's no wonder that the woman who becomes the second Mrs. de Winter (whose first name we never learn) eagerly accepts Maxim de Winter's offer of matrimony. She's young, orphaned, and employed as companion to a mean-spirited fading beauty. The handsome widower simply sweeps her off her feet. In a matter of days, the new bride accompanies her seemingly devoted husband to Manderley, his isolated home on the Cornish coast. From the first, the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, frightens the new bride with her chilling devotion to the dead first Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca. And, all to soon, the second Mrs. de Winter realizes that Maxim married her for her youth and warmth, hoping to use her as a shield against Rebecca's malignant presence -- a lingering evil that threatens to destroy them both from beyond the grave.

First published in 1938, this classic gothic novel is such a compelling read that it won the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the Century.

ANNOTATION

An authorized program of the bestselling classic romantic mystery. 4 cassettes.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. . . With these words the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room in the immense, foreboding estate were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten — a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house's current occupants. And with an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim's first wife — the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.

FROM THE CRITICS

Gale Research

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." With these words, among the most recognizable in twentieth-century Gothic fiction, Daphne du Maurier began her classic novel Rebecca. Described by theSpectator 's Kate O'Brien as "a Charlotte Bronte story minus Charlotte Bronte," Rebecca takes a familiar situation (the arrival of a second wife in her new husband's home) and turns it into an occasion for mystery, suspense, and violence.

Library Journal

Surely no audiobook collection should be without some version of this timeless classic, arguably the most famous and well-loved gothic novel of the 20th century, and this production would be an excellent choice. Read in wonderfully British cadences by Anna Massey, all the mysterious and oppressive nuances are made immediate and chilling. We even feel some sympathy for the absurdly timid and cowering heroine; it is, after all, easy to imagine feeling woefully inferior to the predecessor and desperately eager to please. Of course the story requires great leaps of credulity; imagine a new bride hearing her husband confessing to the cold-blooded killing of his first wife and disposing of her body, and him ultimately getting away with murder, all without turning a hair, glad only to find that he had not even loved the glorious Rebecca so they can live happily ever after. Not how you remember it? Forget the movie; it makes mincemeat of the actual tale. A wise seven-year-old once told me, "The book is always better--it goes right into your head." This is a prime example--listen again; it gets even better. Highly recommended.--Harriet Edwards, East Meadow P.L., NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

AudioFile

This production will capture listeners from its famous first sentence, "Last night I dreamt I went again to Manderley." Those familiar with du Maurier's classic mystery (in which the young narrator falls in love with the moody, wealthy Maxim de Winter) will enjoy it over again, absorbing new details; those not yet acquainted are in for a treat. Emma Fielding's narration has a dreamy, trance-like quality as she recalls the unfolding drama at Manderley, de Winter's ocean-side estate. The narrator Fielding creates (whose name we never learn) is deceptively simple, as unadorned as the young woman she portrays, and completely absorbing. Fielding smoothly handles other voices as well—from the narrator's brassy American employer, to aloof Maxim, to the haunting, jealous Mrs. Danvers. Fielding's cool, almost detached, voice contrasts with the over-the-top swelling violin music used at interludes to underscore the moment's drama, but somehow it all works perfectly. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

AudioFile - Elizabeth K. Dodge

Rebecca is perhaps the ultimate girl book: A young woman, alone in the world and without means, is swept off her feet by a handsome, dashing widower who marries her and takes her back to his manor by the sea. This is the stuff of Romance novels, with the happy addition of fine writing, well-developed characters, and a plot that truly surprises. The luckiest of us discovered it at 16, the perfect age to be entranced by the story of the second Mrs. de Winter, whose happy new life is nearly destroyed by her husband￯﾿ﾽs dark, mysterious past. No matter if you￯﾿ﾽve already read those famous opening lines Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again or heard them in the various excellent movie versions of the novel, you simply must hear Alexandra O￯﾿ﾽKarma weave this spell. All the characters are on target; even the minor ones paint a lively picture of English country life between the wars. But this is the tale of two women, and O￯﾿ﾽKarma virtually inhabits them both: the maniacal Mrs. Danvers, who personifies the force of the late Rebecca; and the young, genuine Mrs. de Winter, so in love, so hopeful, so vulnerable to the unexpected threats to her marriage. Forget the car, the exercise machine, the airport waiting room￯﾿ﾽcurl up with this audiobook by the fire, with a cup of tea and a box of chocolates￯﾿ﾽwhether you￯﾿ﾽre 16 or 60. E.K.D. ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

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